Time Running Out to Charge Denver Deputy with a Hate Crime

On September 11, 2012 Anthony Waller an African American Denver resident came before Judge Doris Burd in court facing both misdemeanor and felony charges. What happened in the courtroom that day is what led to a press conference yesterday by area civil rights groups calling for District Attorney Mitch Morrissey to charge a courtroom sheriff with assault and attempted murder

In Denver, civil rights groups want District Attorney Mitch Morrissey to charge Deputy Sheriff Brady Lovingier with a hate crime. The statute of limitations to do that runs out tomorrow.

In 2012 Anthony Waller appeared in shackles to defend his charges in court. A video and separate audio recording show the deputy rush up to grab Waller from behind and slam him against the courtroom wall. The injured Waller expresses that he is unable to move while Lovingier continues to drag him out of the courtroom.

Judge Doris Burd followed up with a complaint against the deputy who was suspended for thirty days. The thirty days was not acceptable to area groups such as the Colorado Latino Forum, Black Lives Matter 5280, the Colorado Progressive Coalition, and the NAACP. They say abuse of those incarcerated and system failures are still pervasive among Denver law enforcement, but extend to other offices such as the office of the DA.

Waller’s attorney Kenneth Padilla said that during the attack Waller suffered several injuries: a closed head injury, a left orbital blowout fracture, some of his teeth were knocked out and that he also sustained injuries to his back, neck, legs, arm, ankles and suffered a hernia.

Padilla added that after referring the case to the DA that the office refused to prosecute based on what the office said was “no reasonable likelihood of conviction.”

The groups say that DA response is part of a pattern of failures of the DAs office over the entire term of DA Mitch Morrissey.

As a separate case, Anthony Waller has filed a civil suit in Denver courts seeking damages for his injuries.

Reverend Reginald Holmes told media, “Not only are we serving notice to [DA Morrissey] but we’re also serving notice to all the potential candidates who are running for the DA’s office. You’re not going to pacify us with a bunch of gobbledygook .”

Reverend Dawn Riley Duvall, “We are tired of watching black folks, brown folks, poor folks getting brutalized by the people who are supposed to protect us.”

Waller’s Attorney Ken Padilla, “This was a hate crime. It definitely meets that definition in the statute.”